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While senator Alan Peter Cayetano was in Davao busy helping the president-elect organize his government, Senator Koko Pimentel was in Manila working to secure the senate presidency.

While senator Alan Peter Cayetano was in Davao busy helping the president-elect organize his government, Senator Koko Pimentel was in Manila working to secure the senate presidency.

It is no secret that Alan wanted the senate presidency, and it is unfortunate that Cayetano was simply at the wrong place. He should have been in Manila campaigning to get the senate presidency, but instead he was stuck in Davao assisting the president.

As Koko said -- “Actually if Alan wants the position, he should not go to Davao because the position is not determined in Davao. He should talk to his fellow senators”.

Senator Pimental is right, Cayetano should have been in Manila negotiating with the other senators; but unfortunately Alan had to make a sacrifice, he simply could not abandon president-elect Duterte. Alan had to be in Davao because president-elect Duterte needed him there. So when Cayetano finally refocused his energies, Koko Pimentel had secured the numbers to become the senate president.

How did Koko Pimentel do it? My guess is that it was done by offering powerful committees to rabid Duterte critics like Leila De Lima and Ping Lacson.

And the winners are!

As the smoke has cleared, the winners were staunch Duterte critics Sen. Panfilo Lacson who will chair the public order and dangerous drugs committee, and Sen. Leila de Lima wll head the justice committee.

Pimentel says that De Lima can help Duterte; but seriously; how can an enemy who has sworn to block the president's effort become an asset to the Duterte administration.

Aside from De Lima and Lacson, Koko gave powerful positions to the likes Sen. Franklin Drilon who will be the Senate president pro-tempore and Sen. Vicente Sotto III who will be the majority leader. Note that Drilon and Sotto were very critical of Duterte.

So what did Senator Pimentel leave for Senator Cayetano?

Koko Pimentel had leftover positions for Alan Peter Cayetano and these were positions nobody really wanted. The question Pimentel has to answer is why didn't he reserve those key positions for Duterte allies?

And the losers are the Filipinos!

I don't get what Senator Pimentel was thinking when he gave those powerful positions to the enemies of Duterte which makes me wonder; is senator Pimental an ally of Duterte's enemies?